DELIVERED  TO  THE 


SECOND  PRESBYTERIAN  SOCIETY 

IN  NEWBURYPORT,  AUGUST  20,  1812: 


THE  DAY  RECOMMENDED  BY 

THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

FOR 

National  Humiliation  and  Prayer. 


BY  THE  REV.  JOHN  GILES. 

•  m 


NEWBURYPORT, 

Printed  by  W.  &:  J.  Gilman,  Essex-street. 

1812. 


t 


Newbury port ,  August  24,  18  i  2. 


i?^.  and  Dear  S:r, 

WE  the  subscribers  have  been  requested,  bv  your  parishioners  and 
others,  who  attended  on  the  delivering  of  your  very  patriotic  and  interest¬ 
ing  discourses  on  the  late  Fast,  to  solicit  a  copy  of  them  for  the  press. 

We  are,  dear  sir,  with  sentiments  of  very  great  respect,  your  obedient 
servants,  JOHN  O’BRIEN, 

WILLIAM  DAVIS, 

STEPHEN  FROTHINGHAM. 

Rev.  John  Giles. 


To  Capt.  John  O’Brien,  Capt.  William  Davis,  and 
Mr.  Stephen  Frothingham. 

Gentlemen , 

IN  compliance  with  your  request,  I  furnish  you  with  copies  of  the 
discourses  which  were  delivered,  with  the  design  of  attaching  my  parish¬ 
ioners,  still  more,  if  possible,  to  our  invaluable  rights  and  privileges,  and 
to  incite  in  them  increasing  gratitude  to  that  God  who  has  so  eminently 
distinguished  us  above  every  other  nation. 

I  am,  your  servant  in  the  gospel  of  Christ, 

J.  GILES. 

Newburyport,  August  26,  1812. 


PSALM  106.  24. 

YEA>  they  despised  the  pleasant  land. 


ThIS  Psalm  is  a  short  and  concise  history  of  the  multiplied 
and  unprovoked  rebellions  of  the  ungrateful  Israelites;  and  the 
water  of  it  enumerates  their  sins  and  provocations  against  the 
goodness  and  blessings  of  God  unto  them.  Jehovah  had  con 
ducted  them  safely  through  scenes  the  most  trying,  and  through 
dangers  the  most  formidable  and  imminent,  and  brought  them 
to  the  confines  of  the  promised  land ;  but  the  spies  brought  an 

a  rT°rl  °,  lt’.„thouPh  they  owned  it  was  a  land  which  over, 
no  wed  with  milk  and  honey ;  but  that  there  were  such  difficul¬ 
ties  to  possess  it,  which  they  thought  insuperable;  and  hence 
the  people  despised  it— m  as  much  as  when  they  were  bid  to 
go  and  possess  it,  they  refused ;  and  did  not  chuse  to  be  at  any 
difficulty  in  subduing  the  inhabitants  of  it,  or  run  any  risk  or 
hazard  oi  their  lives  in  taking  it,  though  the  Lord  had  promis- 
ta  to  git  e  it  them  and  settle  them  in  it.  But  they  seemed  rather 
■nchned  to  make  themselves  a  captain,  and  return  to  Egypt 
which  was  interpreted  a  despising  the  pleasant  land.  See 

1  ins  history  conveys  much  instruction  to  us,  and  is  well 
adapted  to  the  designs  of  the  day  And,  before  we  proceed  in 

''p?  anc‘  improving  it  ;  the  speaker  must  premise,  that 
it  is  not  his  intention  to  irritate  and  inflame  the  feelings  of  anv 
m  "hat  he  may  deliver  upon  the  present  occasion.  "His  mo’ 
tn  es  ai  e  the  discharge  of  duty,  and  publicly  to  avow  his  warm 
in  m,  and  decided  attachment,  to  the  country  which  has  adopt¬ 
ed  mm  as  its  citizen,  and  to  the  illustrious  character  who  at 
pusc nt  pi esides  over  it;  and  to  this  duty  he  is  urged  by  live¬ 
s'  grain  nee,  and  the  solemn  oath,  which  he  has  taken,  of  tin- 
deviating  allegiance  to  it. 


45248 


ooooo 


2'/Vs£...ENqUIRE,  WHAT  ARE  THOSE  THINGS  WHICH 
ARE  ABSOLUTELY  NECESSARY  TO  CONSTITUTE  A  LAND 

pleasant.  And  we  observe, 

1.  That  a  climate  the  most  salubrious,  and  a  soil  the  most 
fertile  and  luxuriant,  which  may  spontaneously  produce,  not 
only  all  the  necessaries,  but  even  the  luxuries  of  life,  may  be 
rendered  unhappy,  anc}  all  these  sweets  blighted,  and  marredj 
through  the  intruding  hand  of  some  assuming  and  unfeeling 
tyrant.  Such  has  been  the  state  with  the  fertile  lands  of  Por¬ 
tugal,  Spain,  and  Italy  ;  and  such  is  the  still  existing  state  of 
more  prolific  Turkey.  The  God  of  nature  has,  in  those  coun¬ 
tries,  scattered  his  gifts  most  profusely ;  but  they  are  placed 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people  ;  a  favoured 
few,  engross  the  sweets  to  themselves,  and  like  the  forbidden 
fruit  of  Paradise,  no  hand  dare  pluck  them  without  incurring 
the  displeasure  of  their  lords  and  masters.  Thus,  the  kind 
bounties  of  an  indulgent  providence,  are  prostituted,  and  his 
creatures,  who  have  a  natural  right  to  enjoy  them,  are  tantal¬ 
ized  with  having  them  in  continual  view,  but  never  are  filled 
with  the  sweetness  them.  This  must  turn  the  most  pleasant 
and  fruitful  land  into  a  sterile  and  painful  wilderness  ;  a  land, 
which  none  of  us,  my  hearers,  would  chuse  as  his  home  to 
dwell  in,  or  as  his  place  of  sojourneying. 

2.  To  render  a  land  pleasant,  its  inhabitants  must  enjoy 
equal  rights  and  privileges,  otherwise  it  can  be  pleasant  only 
to  a  favoured  few,  while  the  great  majority  are  rendered  ob¬ 
jects  of  misery,  through  penury  and  distress  ;  and  thus,  the 
comforts  and  blessings  of  civilized  society,  be  abused  and  sub¬ 
verted,  and  even  prostituted  to  the  most  ignoble  and  basest  of 
purposes.  We  will  demonstrate  and  illustrate  this,  not  only 
from  ancient,  but  modern  governments.  And  here  w^e  ob¬ 
serve,  that  society  in  every  state  is  a  blessing  ;  but  government 
in  its  best  state  is  but  a  necessary  evil,— in  its  worst  state,  an 
intolerable  one.  For  when  we  suffer,  or  are  exposed  to  the 
same  miseries  by  a  government,  which  we  might  expect  in  a 
country  without  government,  our  calamity  is  heightened,  by 
reflecting  that  we  furnish  the  means  by  which  we  suffer. — 
Government,  like  dress,  is  the  badge  of  lost  innocence,  rj  he 
palaces  of  kings,  are  built  on  the  ruins  of  the  bowers  of  Para¬ 
dise.  In  ancient  Greece,  monarchy  was  the  government 
which  they  first  formed  ;  but  this  they  soon  found  degenerate 


5 

into  tyranny.  Hence  the  term  tyrant ,  was  justly  applied  to 
them.  And,  indeed,  the  word  originally  signified  no  more 
than  king,  and  was  anciently  the  title  of  lawful  princes.  But 
monarchy  gave  way  to  a  republican  government,  which,  how¬ 
ever,  was  diversified  into  almost  as  many  various  forms  as 
there  were  different  cities,  according  to  the  different  genius 
and  peculiar  character  of  each  people.  But  stih  there  was  a 
tincture,  or  leaven,  of  the  ancient  monarchical  government, 
which  frequently  inflamed  the  ambition  of  private  citizens,  and 
made  them  desire  to  become  masters  of  the  country.  In  al¬ 
most  every  state  of  Greece,  some  private  persons  advanced 
themselves,  by  cabal,  treachery,  and  violence,  and  exercised  a 
sovereign  authority,  with  a  despotic  empire  ;  and  in  order  to 
support  their  unjust  usurpations,  in  the  midst  of  distrusts  and 
alarms,  they  thought  themselves  obliged  to  prevent  imaginary 
or  suppress  real  conspirators,  by  the  most  cruel  proscriptions, 
and  to  sacrifice  to  their  own  security,  all  those  whom  rank, 
merit,  wealth,  zeal  for  libertv,  or  love  of  their  country,  render- 
ed  obnoxious  to  a  suspicious  and  unsettled  government,  and 
which  found  itself  hated  by  ail,  and  was  sensible,  it  deserved  to 
be  so.  What  we  have  remarked  of  Greece,  will,  with  lew 
shades  of  difference,  apply  to  ancient  Rome. 

Let  us  now  take  a  view  of  the  modern  governments  of  Eu¬ 
rope,  and  examine  how  far  they  are  calculated  to  add  to  the 
peace,  comfort,  and  happiness  of  mankind  ;  and  in  the  attempt 
our  souls  must  overflow  with  gratitude  to  God,  if  sensible  of 
the  superiour  blessings  and  privileges  we  enjoy  in  this  aur  fa¬ 
voured  land.  For, 

3.  A  land  to  be  pleasant,  must  have  governors  and  magis¬ 
trates,  qualified  and  suited  to  the  dignity  and  high  stations  they 
fill ;  nor  can  they  command  the  respect  and  affection  of  those 
they  rule  over,  unless  they  are  the  men  of  their  choice.  For 
the  truth  of  this,  I  appeal  to  your  judgment.  Should  we  feel 
happy,  were  a  man  to  be  forced  upon  us,  as  governor  of  this 
State,  or  as  president  of  the  United  States  ?  And,  granting  the 
man,  even  qualified,  in  every  point  of  view,  would  noc  our 
feelings  revolt  ?  But  should  such  an  one  act  the  part  of  a  ty¬ 
rant,  by  oppressing  your  persons,  taking  from  you  your  pro¬ 
perty,  and  reducing  you  and  your  posterity,  from  affluence  to 
extreme  want  and  beggary,  the  case  would  be  still  more  af¬ 
flicting.  This- representation  is  not  ideal  ;  it  exists,  in  all  the 


6 

ooeoo 

aggravating'  circumstances  here  stated,  and  that,  in  the  fast- 
anchored  isle  of  Great- Britain.  The  chief  magistrate,  or  what 
they  call  king,  is  hereditary.  How  degrading  this  to  an  en¬ 
lightened  people  !  It  is  a  system  of  mental  leveling.  It  in¬ 
discriminately  admits  every  species  of  character  to  the  same 
authority.  Vice  and  virtue,  ignorance  and  wisdom,  in  short, 
every  quality,  good  or  bad,  is  put  on  the  same  level.  Kings 
succeed  each  other,  not  as  rationals  ;  it  signifies  not  what  their 
mental  or  moral  characters  are.  Such  a  government  appears 
under  all  the  various  characters  of  childhood,  decrepitude,  and 
dotage  ;  a  thing  at  nurse,  in  leading-strings,  or  in  crutches. 
It  reverses  the  wholesome  order  of  nature  ;  it  occasionally  puts 
children  over  men,  and  maniacs  to  rule  the  wise.  It  requires 
some  talents  to  be  a  common  mechanic ;  but  to  be  a  king  re¬ 
quires  only  the  animal  figure  of  a  man,  a  sort  of  breathing  au¬ 
tomaton.  But  I  must  observe,  that  I  am  not  the  personal  en¬ 
emy  of  kings.  No  man  more  heartily  wishes,  than  myself,  to 
see  them  ail  in  the  happy  and  honorable  state  of  private  indi¬ 
viduals.  But.  I  am  the  avowed  and  open  enemy  of  what  is 
called  monarchy ;  and  I  am  such,  by  principles  which  nothing 
can  either  alter  or  corrupt — that  is,  by  my  attachment  to  hu- 
manity— by  the  anxiety,  which  I  feel  within  myself,  for  the 
ease  and  honor  of  the  human  race— by  the  disgust  which  I  ex¬ 
perienced,  when  I  observed  men,  directed  bv  children,  and 
governed  by  brutes — by  the  horrors,  which  all  the  evils  that 
monarchy  has  spread  over  the  earth,  excite  within  my  breast — 
and  by  those  sentiments,  which  make  me  shudder  at  the  calam- 

y 

ities,  the  exactions,  the  wars,  and  the  massacres  with  which 
monarchy  has  crushed  mankind.  Would  not  you,  my  hear¬ 
ers,  consider  such  a  land,  however  salubrious  the  clime,  how¬ 
ever  fertile  the  soil,  however  embellished  with  the  progress  of 
the  arts  and  sciences,  deprived  of  its  birth-right  and  groaning 
under  special  marks  of  divine  displeasure  ?  Let  us  rejoice,  that 
we  are  in  the  full  possession  and  free  exercise  of  the  privilege 
of  selecting  from  ourselves,  men,  to  be  our  rulers  ;  and  while 
we  give  them  a  compensation  for  the  services  which  they  ren¬ 
der  the  public,  in  their  several  stations,  which  is  but  just  and 
reasonable  ;  for  the  labourer  is  worthy  of  his  hire.  Yet  gov¬ 
ernment  in  America  is  what  it  ought  to  be,  a  matter  of  honour 
and  trust,  and  not  made  a  trade  of,  as  in  England,  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  lucre. 


I 


7 

4.  That  which  constitutes  a  land  pleasant,  is  the  state  of 
society.  To  see  every  member  of  it  in  the  enjoyment  of  all 
the  essential  necessaries  of  life ;  we  do  not  mean,  that  one  and 
all  should  possess  equal  property,  for  this  never  was  designed 
by  the  God  of  nature  ;  for  there  will  be  some  who  are  compar¬ 
atively  poor,  for  the  exercise  of  the  benevolence  ol  the  rich. 
But  that  none  should  suffer  through  want  or  hunger,  all  who 
are  in  the  enjoyment  of  health,  and  are  industrious,  should  be 
able  by  moderate  labour,  to  procure  the  comforts  of  life.  We 
bless  God  that  such  a  pleasant  land  is  our  inheritance.  Here 
is  a  sufficiency  of  bread  for  all.  Let  the  people  here  be  but 
diligent,  and  a  few  years  will  place  them  in  a  state  of  indepen¬ 
dence.  O  how  different  is  this,  from  what  we  see  on  the 
other  side  of  die  atlantic  !  Should  the  enquiry  be,  what  makes 
the  difference,  has  not  providence  favored  them  with  a  fruitful 
land  ?  We  reply,  providence  has  not  been  to  them  sparing  in 
its  gifts  :  but  through  the  cunning  craft  of  men,  these  gifts 
are  engrossed  by  a  few  choice  spirits,  who  hot  in  luxury,  at 
the  expence  of  the  labourer,  the  mechanic,  and  the  husband¬ 
man.  We  will  explain  our  meaning — The  chief  magistrate 
of  England  receives  a  million  sterling,  every  year  ;  the  other 
branches  of  his  family,  nearly  the  same  sum,  and  a  long  list  of 
placemen  and  pensioners,  swell  the  burden  to  an  enormous 
size.  And  all  this  is  wrung  from  the  hard  earnings  of  the 
labouring  poor.  It  is  this  wretched  system  which  causes  the 
land  to  mourn,  which  crowds  the  streets  with  beggars,  and 
which  drives  men  to  the  desperate  act  of  invading  the  proper¬ 
ty  of  others  ;  for  what  will  not  hunger  impel  men  to  !  This 
picture  is  not  overcharged ;  some  present  have  seen  with  their 
eyes,  these  things,  and  can  bear  witness  to  the  facts.  But  let 
us  turn  our  view  from  these  sickening  scenes,  and  contem¬ 
plate  our  own  condition  on  these  happy  shores,  and  we  see  an 
extent  of  territory,  twelve  times  larger  than  England,  and  the 
expence  of  the  several  departments  of  the  general  representa¬ 
tive  government  not  amounting  to  what  is  allowed  even  to  the 
king  alone. 

5.  To  render  a  land  pleasant,  it  is  essential  that  the  means 
of  grace  should  be  enjoyed.  It  is  these  which  add  to  the  glo¬ 
ry  of  any  land,  and  render  a  people  truly  great.  This  it  was, 
which  made  the  Israelites  so  much  greater  than  other  nations* 
Thus  Moses  describes  them  :  “  What  nation  is  there  so  great. 


8 

eoooo 

that  hath  statutes  and  judgments  so  righteous,  as  all  this  Law 
which  I  set  before  you  this  day?”  Without  the  Gospel, 
the  most  enlightened  people,  are  no  better  than  refined  savages. 
The  Gospel  is  a  pearl  of  great  price  ;  it  is  the  glory  and  hon¬ 
our  of  a  church,  a  people,  or  a  person.  This  only  instructs  11s 
in  the  way  of  salvation.  Trade  and  commerce,  may  gain  and 
preserve  an  estate,  bread  may  support  the  body,  but  this  only 
can  nourish  and  prop  up  the  soul.  When  the  Gospel  is  re¬ 
moved,  the  light  is  removed  which  is  able  to  direct  us,  the 
pearl  is  removed  which  can  only  enrich  us.  In  the  want  of 
this,  is  introduced  a  spiritual  darkness,  which  terminates  in  an 
eternal  darkness.  As  the  Gospel  is  compared  to  Heaven,  and 
so  called  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  and  a  people  in  the  enjoy¬ 
ment  of  it  are  said  to  be  lifted  up  to  heaven  ;  so  in  the  want 
of  it,  they  are  said  to  be  cast  down  to  hell.  See  Matth.  10.  23. 
So  that  what  resemblance  there  is  between  heaven  and  the 
means  of  grace  ;  that  there  is  between  the  want  of  them  and 
hell.  Both  are  a  separation  from  God  ;  so  that  when  the  Gos- 
]xs  departs,  all  other  blessings  depart  with  it,  and  judgments 
succeed.  When  the  glory  of  God  was  gone  up  from  the  first 
cherub  to  the  threshold  of  the  house,  see  Ezek.  9.  3.  the  an¬ 
gels  are  commanded  to  execute  the  destructive  sentence  against 
the  city.  v.  4,  5.  When  the  word  of  God  is  removed,  the 
strength  of  a  nation  departs.  The  ordinances  of  God  are  the 
towers  of  Sion.  The  temple  was  not  only  a  place  of  worship, 
but  a  bulwark  too.  The  ark  was  often  carried  by  the  Israel¬ 
ites  into  the  camp,  because  there  their  strength  lay.  And  when 
David  was  chased  away  by  his  son  Absalom,  he  takes  the  ark 
of  the  tabernacle,  as  his  greatest  strength  against  the  defec¬ 
tion  of  his  son  and  subjects.  This  blessing,  my  hearers,  we 
enjoy  in  a  peculiar  manner.  The  heavenly  manna  profusely 
descends  around  our  tents,  and  every  one  may  worship  God 
in  that  form  and  manner  which  he  thinks  accords  best  with  the 
volume  of  inspiration. 

6.  That  which  renders  our  land  the  glory  of  all  lands,  is  to 
be  free  from  all  religious  establishments,  the  bane  of  society, 
and  curse  of  human  nature.  Let  us  enlarge  a  little  on  this 
sentiment.  All  religions  are  in  their  nature  mild  and  benign, 
and  united  with  principles  of  morality.  They  could  not  have 
made  proselites  at  first  by  professing  any  thing  which  was 
vicious  and  persecuting,  or  immoral.  How  is  it  then,  that  they 


eoooo 


lose  their  native  mildness,  and  become  morose  and  intolerant  ? 
It  proceeds  from  an  alliance  between  church  and  state  The 
inquisition  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  does  not  proceed  from  the 
religion  originally  professed,  but  from  this  mule  animal,  as  one 
calls  it,  engendered  between  church  and  state.  The  burnings 
m  Smithfield,  proceeded  from  the  same  heterogeneous  produc¬ 
tion  ;  and  it  was  the  regeneration  of  this  strange  animal,  after • 
wards ,  in  the  na  tion  now  called  the  bulwark  of  our  religion , 
which  revived  rancour  and  irreligion  among  the  inhabitants 
there,  and  which  drove  the  people  called  dissenters  and  quak- 
ers  to  this  country.  Persecution  is  not  an  original  featui  e  in 
any  religion  ;  but  it  is  always  the  strongly-marked  feature  of 
all  law-religions,  or  religions  established  by  law.  Take  away 
the  law-establishment,  and  every  religion  reassumes  its  orig¬ 
inal  benignity.  Here  in  America,  a  catholic  priest  is  a  good 
citizen,  a  good  character,  and  a  good  neighbour  ;  the  same 
may  be  said  of  ministers  of  other  denominations,  and  this  pro¬ 
ceeds,  independent  of  men,  from  there  being  no  law-establish¬ 
ment  in  America. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  hath  abolished  or 
renounced  toleration,  and  intoleration  also;  and  hath  establish¬ 
ed  universal  right  of  conscience.  Toleration  is  not  the  oppos¬ 
ite  of  intoleration,  but  is  the  counterfeit  of  it;  both  are  despot¬ 
isms.  The  one  assumes  to  itself  the  right  of  withholding  the 
liberty  of  conscience,  and  the  other  of  granting  it.  The  one 
is  the  pope  armed  with  lire  and  faggot,  and  the  other  is  the 
pope  selling  or  granting  indulgences.  The  former  is  church 
and  state ;  the  latter  is  church  and  traffic.  This  is  the  pervert¬ 
ed  state  of  things  in  that  kingdom,  called  the  world's  last  hope . 
And  though  the  gospel  is  there  preached,  yet  it  is  the  misfor¬ 
tune  of  many  who  love  it,  to  have  a  minister  imposed  upon 
them, who  is  an  enemy  to  it ;  and  which  minister  they  must 
support,  with  the  tenth  of  their  tythes ;  even  though  dissenters 
from  the  established  church  ;  and  what  adds  to  the  turpitude 
of  all  this,  no  man  can  hold  any  place  of  trust  or  employ  under 
the  government,  who  is  not  an  episcopalian,  without  first  receiv¬ 
ing  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord’s  Supper,  on  his  bended  knees, 
to  qualify  him  for  office.  Must  it  not  be  duplicity,  nay,  the  very 
essence  of  hypocrisy,  in  any  man,  to  call  such  a  kingdom, 
“  the  bulwark  of  our  religion.” 

R  1 


to 


T 

Use  1.  Let  us  to-day,  deplore,  and  lament  over  our  me  L 
fold  sins,  which  have  tempted  God  to  let  loose  upon  us  01  ?  f 
his  sore  judgments,  'idle  sword  is  drawn,  and  more  than  pro¬ 
bable,  while  i  am  addressing  you,  it  is  bathed  in  the  blood  of 
some  of  our  fellow- citizens-  It  is  true,  that  at  present,  throne  h 
mercy,  it  is  placed  at  a  distance  from  us  ;  but  some  on  our 
frontiers,  and  on  the  sea,  have  already  fallen  sacrifices,  and  we 
know  not  how  soon  it  may  be  permitted  to  approximate  our  habi¬ 
tations.  The  kite  of  war  is  always  precarious  and  uncertain.  Let 
not  him  whoputteth  on  his  armour,  boast  like  him  whoputteth  it 
off  Remember  it  is  God  alone  who  giveth  us  the  victory.  Let 
our  eyes  then  be  directed  to  him,  and  all  our  expectations  from 
him.  This  by  no  means  supercedes  the  necessity  of  our 
warmest  exertions.  No,  it  is  the  sword  of  the  Lord  and  Gid¬ 
eon.  Let  us  then  assist  the  brave,  generous  defenders  of  our 
country,  who  are  vindicating  our  rights,  and  redressing  our 
wrongs.  Let  us,  I  say,  assist  them  by  prayer  and  fervent  cries, 
for  prayer  has  ever  proved  a  powerful  weapon.  If  it  over¬ 
comes  God,  it  certainly  will  overcome  men.  Thus,  while  the 
hand  of  Moses  was  upheld  by  the  prayer  of  Aaron  and  Hurr, 
he  prevailed  in  the  battle  against  Amaick.  And  it  is  promised, 
that  one  such,  shall  chace  a  thousand,  and  two,  put  ten  thous¬ 
and  to  flight.  Thus  jehoshaph.it,  after  he  had  proclaimed  a 
fast,  when  a  great  multitude  came  against  him,  addresses  God 
in  prayer  :  G,  our  God,  wilt  thou  not  judge  them,  for  we  have 
no  might  against  this  great  company,  which  comcth  against  us, 
neither  know  we  what  to  do,  but  our  eyes-are  upon  thee.  And 
when  they  began  to  sing,  and  to  praise,  the  Lord  routed  their 
enemies,  with  a  great  slaughter. 

2.  Let  us  encourage  ourselves  in  the  Lord,  from  the  na¬ 
ture  of  the  enemv  we  are  now  engaged  with.  In  our  infancy, 
we  humbled  their  pride,  and  chained  to  the  chariot  wheels  of 
our  triumph,  two  of  their  most  celebrated  generals;  one  of. 
which  boasted  on  the  floor  of  Parliament,  that  with  3000  men, 
he  would  march  in  triumph,  from  one  end  of  our  continent  to 
die  other.  Part  of  his  assertion  seemed  to  be  prophetic,  for 
he  passed  through  a  section  of  cur  continent,  not  as  a  conquer¬ 
or,  but  a  crest-fallen  prisoner.  If  we  atchieved  such  exploits 
in  our  infant  state,  what  shall  we  not,  through  providence,  be 
able  to  do  now  in  our  manhood  ?  Add  to  this  the  multiplied 
crimes  of  the  government  we  are  opposed  to  ;  a  government, 


11 

eoooo 

founded  and  cemented  in  blood,  and  its  tottering  state,  still  up¬ 
held  by  blood  ;  a  government  with  which,  it  is  evident,  the 
Lord  has  a  controversy.  How  different  the  state  of  this,  our 
happy  land.  Never  had  a  country  so  many  openings  to  hap¬ 
piness  as  this;  her  setting  out  into  life,  like  the  rising  of  a  fair 
morning,  was  unclouded  and  promising ;  her  cause  was  good  ; 
her  principles  just  and  liberal ;  her  conduct  regulated  by  the 
nicest  steps,  and  every  tiling  about  her  wore  the  mark  of  hon¬ 
our.  Here  I  will  give  you  the  language  of  Mr.  Rush,  the  or¬ 
ator  of  the  clay,  at  the  seat  of  our  government,  the  4th  of  July 
last.  When,  let  as  ask  with  exultation,  when  have  embassa¬ 
dors  from  other  countries  been  sent  to  our  shores,  to  complain 
of  injuries  done  by  the  American  States  ?  What  nation  have 
the  American  States  plundered  ?  What  nation  have  the  Amer¬ 
ican  States  outraged  ?  Upon  what  rights  have  the  American 
States  trampled  ?  In  the  pride  of  justice  and  true  honour,  we 
say,  none.  Blit  we  have  sent  forth  from  ourselves  the  mes- 
sengers  of  peace  and  conciliation,  again  and  again,  across  seas, 
and  to  distant  countries — To  ask,  earnestly  to  sue,  for  a  ces¬ 
sation  of  the  injuries  done  to  us.  They  have  gone  to  protest, 
under  the  sensibility  of  real  suffering:,  against  that  course  which 
made  the  persons  and  the  property  of  our  countrymen,  th 
subjects  of  indiscriminate  and  rapacious  spoliations.  Thes 

have  been  the  ends  they  were  sent  to  obtain.  Ends  too  fair 

**• 

for  protracted  refusal! ,  too  intelligible  to  have  been  entangled 
in  evasive  subtiities,  too  legitimate  to  have  been  neglected  in 
hostile  silence.  When  their  ministers  have  been  sent  to  us, 
what  has  been  the  aim  of  their  missions  ?  To  urge  redress 
for  wrongs  done  to  them,  shall  wc  ask  again  ?  No,  the  melan¬ 
choly  reverse.  For  in  too  many  instances,  they  have  come  to 
excuse,  to  palliate,  or  even  to  endeavour,  in  some  shape,  to 
rivet,  those  inflicted  by  their  sovereigns  upon  us. 

We,  my  hearers,  have  nothing  to  fear  eventually,  in  our 
contest  with  a  government  so  depraved  and  corrupt,  as  that  of 
the  British.  Her  fictitious  wealth  is  depreciating  ;  her  most 
wise  and  virtuous  statesmen  cannot  be  prevailed  upon  to  join, 
and  unite  in  her  councils;  her  prince  regent  has,  by  his  intem¬ 
perance  and  debaucheries,  reduced  himself  to  the  stale  of  an  id- 
eot ;  and  the  multitudes  of  her  poor,  rendered  desperate  by  hun¬ 
ger,  are  aircadvthreatening  to  overwhelm  it  with  their  vengeance, 
ui  short,  every  sign  of  the  times.,  indicates  her  speedy  dissolu- 


n 


12 

00003 

lion.  Certainly  the  righteous  God  will  not  suffer  her  wicked 
and  horrid  ravages  to  go  unavenged,  even  here  upon  earth. 
Let  us  wait  awhile,  and  we  may  live  to  see  the  time,  wherein 
it  shall  not  be  said  by  the  voice  of  faith,  but  by  the  voice  of 
sense  itself,  Babylon,  the  great,  is  fallen,  is  fallen  ! 


PSALM  106.  24. 

YEA,  THEY  DESPISED  THE  PLEASANT  LAND . 


HE  speaker,  in  the  forenoon,  called  your  attention,  to  the 
distinguishing  goodness  of  God,  which  has  exempted  us  as 
a  people,  from  the  burdens,  oppressions,  and  calamities,  un¬ 
der  which  the  nations  of  Europe  groan,  and  which  wring  from 
the  inhabitants,  the  most  piercing  cries.  Our  lines  are  fall¬ 
en  in  pleasant  places ;  yea,  we  have  a  goodly  heritage  : 
but  some  among  us,  like  Jeshurun  of  old,  have  waxed  fat 
and  are  kicking  against  the  rock  of  salvation.  This  leads  us, 
Second... To  exhibit  the  characters  who  despise 

THE  PLEASANT  LAND. 

»  '  •  \  »  • 

We  charge  no  party,  solely,  as  implicated  in  this  crime ; 
but  shall  attempt  to  demonstrate  that  there  are  such  men  a- 
mong  us.  And  we  will,  as  we  proceed  in  our  description, 
adhere  to  the  criterion  laid  down  by  our  Saviour — you  shall 
know  them  by  their  fruit. 

1.  Men  may  be  said  to  despise  it,  when  they  make  light 
of  their  privileges,  either  in  a  natural,  moral,  or  political  view. 

First,  in  a  natural  view.  The  mercies,  which  we  call  nat¬ 
ural,  are  those  which  are  necessary  for  our  nourishment  and 
support ;  and  that  we,  as  a  people,  abound  in  these,  is  evident 
to  all.  We  live  in  a  land  overflowing  with  a  rich  variety  of 
God’s  providential  goodness.  Here  is  no  leanness  of  teeth  ; 
our  streets  are  not  crowded  with  our  fellow-creatures,  solicit¬ 
ing  the  aid  of  our  benevolence — nor  our  ears  assailed  with  the 


15 


©oooo 


melancholy  tales  of  indigence  and  distress.  The  parent,  with 
pallid  cheeks,  hollow  eyes,  and  trembling  limbs,  arrest  notour 
steps  with  importunate  cries  for  relief  to  their  helpless  infants, 
pining  in  want,  and  the  lamp  of  life  ready  to  expire,  because 
destitute  of  means  to  nourish  it.  W e  are  placed  far  from  these 
sickening  scenes.  But,  alas  !  do  we  not  make  light  of  these 
mercies  ?  We  enjoy  the  mercies,  and  forget  the  donor. 
We  rake  what  he  gives  ;  but  pay  not  the  tribute  he  deserves. 
The  Israelites  forgot  God  their  Saviour,  which  had  done  great 
things  in  Egypt.  We  send  God’s  mercies,  where  we  would 
have  him  send  our  sins,  into  a  land  of  forgetfulness  ;  and  write 
his  benefits,  where  he  himself  will  write  the  names  of  the  wick¬ 
ed,  in  the  dust,  which  every  wind  effaces.  We  forget  his 
goodness  in  the  sun,  while  it  warms  us — in  the  showers,  while 
they  enrich  us — and  in  the  corn,  while  it  nourishes  us.  It  is 
an  injustice  to  forget  the  benefits  we  receive  from  man,  but  a 
crime,  of  a  higher  nature,  to  forget  those  dispensed  to  us  by 
the  hand  of  God,  who  gives  us  those  things  which  all  the  world 
cannot  furnish  us  without  him.  It  is,  in  God’s  judgment,  a 
brutishness  beyond  that  of  a  stupid  ox,  or  a  duller  ass.  The 
ox  knoweth  his  owner,  and  the  ass  his  master’s  crib,  but  Isra¬ 
el  doth  not  know,  my  people  do  not  consider.  How  horrible, 
that  God  should  lose  more  by  his  bounty,  than  he  would  by  his 
parsimony.  If  we  had  blessings  more  sparingly,  we  should 
remember  him  more  gratefully.  If  he  had  sent  us  a  bit  of 
bread  in  distress,  by  a  miracle,  as  he  did  to  Elijah,  by  the  ra¬ 
vens,  we  should  retain  it  in  our  memories.  But  the  sense  of 
daily  favours,  soonest  wear  out  of  our  minds,  which  are  as 
great  miracles,  as  any  in  their  own  nature,  and  the  products  of 
the  same  power. 

Secondly,  We  despise  our  moral  and  spiritual  privileges, 
when  we  reject  the  truths  of  revealed  religion.  This  is  one  of 
the  crying  sins  of  our  land.  Errors  which  were  almost  obso¬ 
lete,  are  reviving,  and  the  professors  of  those  pernicious  doc¬ 
trines,  are  daily  multiplying  and  increasing,  by  which  the 
glories  of  Christ  are  laid  prostrate  in  the  dust ;  and  the  ob¬ 
ject  of  the  Christian’s  dearest  hope  is  degraded,  and  brought 
down  to  a  level  with  a  creature,  so  that  we  had  need  to  trem¬ 
ble  at  the  prospects  before  us  ;  for  these  sentiments,  like  the 
explosion  of  a  subterraneous  fire,  may  ere  long  burst  forth  and 
spread  ruin,  slaughter,  and  death,  all  around,  should  they  be- 


come  the  creed  of  an  established  religion.  Let  no  one  say,  we 
live  in  an  age  too  enlightened,  for  religious  persecution  to  gain 
head.  But  stop  ;  let  us  for  a  moment  examine  the  force  of 
this  reasoning  ;  and  one  remark  shall  suffice.  Could  any  of 
tou,  venerable  patriots,  who  joyfully  took  the  spoiling  of  your 
goods,  and  waded  your  way  through  blood  to  gain  the  pinna¬ 
cle  of  liberty,  could  you  suppose,  at  the  close  of  your  national 
struggle,  that  in  the  year  1812,  your  fellow-citizens  should 
become  objects  of  persecution,  for  an  attachment  to  those  very 
sentiments,  for  which  so  many  of  our  fathers  bled  and  died  ? 
And  who  are  the  characters  who  foment  and  the  very  ring¬ 
leaders  of  this  intolerant  spirit  ?  Are  they  not  those  who  pro¬ 
fess  the  aforesaid  sentiments  ? 

Men  despise  the  pleasant  land,  who  make  light  of  the  gos¬ 
pel,  and  will  not  attend  to  the  preaching  of  it  ;  or  if  they  give 
it  a  hearing,  refuse  to  comply  with  its  just  and  reasonable  re¬ 
quisitions.  It  is  not  enough,  to  be  within  the  visible  ark  ;  so 
was  a  cursed  Ham.  Let  us  not  receive  the  grace  of  God  in 
vain  ;  but  adorn  the  gospel,  by  a  gospel  spirit,  and  a  gospel 
practice,  and  walk  as  children  of  light.  Let  us  not  trample  it 
under  our  leet,  but  put  our  souls  under  the  efficacy  of  it,  and 
get  from  it  the  foretastes  of  a  heavenly  and  everlasting  light. 
Let  us  not  loiter  while  the  sun  shines,  lest  we  be  benighted, 
and  bewildered,  and  misled,  and  finally  miscarry. 

Those  may,  with  the  strictest  propriety,  be  ranked  among 
the  despisers,  who  dragoon  religion  into  their  service,  and  make 
it  the  trumpet  of  sedition  and  rebellion.  The  gospel,  is  the 
gospel  of  peace.  It  was  introduced  by  angels  with  Glory  to 
God  in  the  highest ,  and  on  earth  good  will  to  man.  Christ, 
the  author  of  it,  is  called  the  Prince  of  peace  ;  and  it  inculcates 
peace  on  all  its  followers.  How  malignant,  then,  must  that 
soul  be,  which  would  convert  it  into  an  engine  to  irritate,  goad, 
and  inflame  the  passions  of  men,  to  strife,  blood,  and  slaughter  ? 
When  the  sacred  desk,  is  converted  into  a  vehicle  ofscandal,  and 


calumny,  and  charges  predicated  on  misrepresentation  and  the 
most  glaring  falsehood  ;  this  is  a  prostitution,  not  only  of  place, 
but  office,  and  sinking  the  ministerial  character  into  that  of  a 
public  informer.  It  is  a  melancholy  consideration,  that  such 
occurrences  should  have  taken  place,  as  to  force  from  tire 
speaker  such  observations  ;  but  when  the  poison  is  openly 
and  widely’  diffused,  it  is  the  duty  of  every  good  man  to  ad- 


15 

oeooo 

minister  an  antidote,  to  counteract  the  effects  of  it.  Such  con¬ 
duct  strikes  at  the  root,  and  is  subversive  of  a  free  govern¬ 
ment,  and  has  a  tendency  to  introduce  anarchy  and  confusion. 
It  likewise  flies  in  the  face  of  divine  authority,  and  subserves 
the  cause  of  infidelity  ;  for  no  truth  is  more  explicitly  reveal¬ 
ed,  than  due  subordination  to  government.  We  will  quote 
a  few  to  corroborate  our  assertion.  Exod.  22.  28.  Thou  shalt 
not  revile  the  Gods,  nor  curse  the  rulers  of  thy  people.  And 
Rom.  13.  1,  2.  Let  every  soul  be  subject  unto  the  higher 
powers.  For  there  is  no  power  but  of  God:  the  powers  that 
be  are  ordained  of  God.  Whosoever  resisteth  the  power,  re¬ 
sisted!  the  ordinance  of  God  ;  and  they  that  resist  shall  receive 
to  themselves  damnation.  Jude  calls  these  disorganizers,  v.  8. 
Filthy  dreamers,  who  defile  the  flesh,  despise  dominion,  and 
speak  evil  of  dignities.  Can  there  be  a  greater  prop  to  infi¬ 
delity  ?  Did  Thomas  Paine,  with  all  his  frantic  ravings  against 
the  Christian  religion,  give  it  so  fatal  a  stab  as  these  pretended 
advocates  of  it,  who,  in  direct  opposition  to  its  express  com¬ 
mands,  defame  and  pour  a  torrent  of  abuse  upon  our  worthy 
President ;  a  man  who,  when  first  inducted  into  the  presiden¬ 
cy,  was  represented,  by  these  his  now  defamers,  as  a  convert¬ 
ed  man,  and  an  experimental  Christian.  But  all  these  puny  at¬ 
tempts  to  sink,  will  but  elevate  him  the  higher,  in  the  esteem 
of  every  genuine  American ;  and  with  dignified  composure, 
and  silent  contempt,  he  hears  all  these  unfounded  accusa¬ 
tions,  as  the  ebullitions  of  ignorance  or  of  a  maniac  ;  and  he 
who  has  so  long  withstood  the  roaring  of  lions,  has  nothing 
to  fear  from  the  braying  of  an  ass. 

3.  Men  despise  our  political  privileges,  when  they  use 
every  stratagem  to  render  our  government  contemptible,  and 
to  alienate  the  affections  of  their  fellow-citizens  from  it.  This 
is  to  imitate  satan,  who  would  rather  reign  in  hell,  than  be 
subordinate  in  heaven.  Never  did  human  wisdom  devise 
so  fair  a  fabrick  as  our  Federal  Government.  Each  state 
united  to  the  other,  like  the  several  members  of  the  human 
body,  co-operating  for  the  good  of  the  whole  ;  so  that  one 
cannot  say,  I  have  no  need  of  you.  All  are  bound  by  sol¬ 
emn  compact,  to  adhere  to  each  other ;  for  the  good  of  the 
whole,  is  the  good  of  each*  How  malicious  !  how  cruel  ! 
how  savage  !  to  attempt  to  mutilate  so  fair  a  fabrick,  and 
to  loose  the  bond  of  union,  and  destroy  a  system,  which. 


16 

ooooo 

with  its  increasing  years,  hath  produced  increasing  prosper  ¬ 
ity.  We  grant  that  our  apparent  prosperity,  has  partially 
been  interrupted  ;  but  this  arose  not  from  any  defect  in  our 
government,  nor  in  those  at  the  head  of  it  ;  but  from  the 
existing  state  of  the  European  world,  which,  for  a  few  years 
past,  has  been  in  an  uncommon  fermentation.  Nor  could 
Solomon,  had  he  presided  over  us,  have  guarded  us  against 
the  collisions  of  the  belligerent  powers.  French  ambition, 
and  British  cupidity,  have  committed  spoliations  on  our  com¬ 
merce  to  a  vast  amount.  But  must  not  every  impartial 
person  admit,  that,  to  promote  a  spirit  of  discord  and  dis¬ 
union  among  ourselves,  is  not  the  way  to  redress,  but  the 
sure  method  to  incite  them  to  greater  aggressions.  Let  us 
frown,  indignant,  at  every  attempt  to  dissolve  our  federal 
constitution,  however  sacred  may  be  their  functions ;  let  us 
regard  them  as  missionaries  of  him  who  is  the  father  of  lies, 
and  a  murderer  from  the  beginning. 

When  men  counteract  the  means  which  the  wisdom  of 
our  Executive  devise  to  assert  our  rights,  redress  our  wrongs, 
and  maintain  our  national  dignity  and  honour — or  even  when 
they  be  cold  and  lukewarm  in  promoting  them,  they  come 
within  the  charge  of  our  text.  Such  characters  may  use 
plausible  pleas,  to  extenuate  their  conduct — such  as  the  tem¬ 
per  of  the  public  mind,  the  persecutions  they  shall  be  ex¬ 
posed  to,  and  the  losses  they  shall  sustain  ;  but  if  these  pleas 
are  valid  now,  they  were  valid  during  our  revolutionary  war  ; 
and  had  the  patriots  of  that  day,  displayed  the  same  spirit, 
we  should  be  groaning  now  in  Egyptian  bondage.  Let  such 
tremble ;  let  them  arise  from  their  torpor,  lest  they  subject 
themselves  to  the  anathema  pronounced  against  some  in  days 
of  old.  See  Judges  5.  23.  Curse  ve  Meroz,  said  the  an- 

O  v  7 

gel  of  the  Lord  ;  curse  ye  bitterly  the  inhabitants  thereof, 
because  they  came  not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  the  help 
of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty. 

When  men  turn  liberty  into  licentiousness,  and  take  shel¬ 
ter  under  the  lenity  of  our  law,  to  degrade  and  abuse  the 
majesty  of  the  law ;  this  has  a  tendency  to  destroy  the  lib¬ 
erty  we  enjoy,  and  lay  prostrate  in  ruin,  the  fair  edifice, 
which  has  for  thirty  years  withstood  all  the  rude  shocks  to 
which  it  has  been  exposed ;  either  by  exciting  our  legisla¬ 
tors  to  lay  some  restrictions  on  the  press,  which  at  present 


17 

©©©©<© 

teems  with  so  many  inflamatory,  virulent,  and  infamous  pub 
lications,  or  else  reducing  us  to  a  state  of  anarchy.  Let 
me,  on  this  occasion,  advise  you  my  hearers,  to  adhere,  in¬ 
flexibly  adhere,  to  the  principles  of  Republicanism.  But  at 
the  same  time,  bear  and  forbear,  with  the  insults  which  your 
principles  may  expose  you  to.  Remember,  our  constitution 
is  founded  on  the  right  of  private  judgment,  and  that  prin¬ 
ciples  cannot  be  destroyed  by  the  force  of  arms.  No;  let: 
reason  and  argument  be  the  only  weapons  which  you  will 
use  ;  and  if  violence  be  heard  in  our  land,  wasting  and  de¬ 
struction  within  our  borders,  let  them  not  originate  from 
those  who  call  themselves  republicans,  and  friends  of  our 
government ;  but  from  those  who  assume  to  themselves,  the 
exclusive  privilege  of  being  the  friends  of  good  order. 

U  se  1.  Let  us,  to-day,  lament  over  the  ruin  of  lapsed 
nature,  and  over  the  jarring,  discordant,  and  destructive  ef¬ 
fects,  which  sin  has  introduced,  in  all  our  national  calami¬ 
ties,  under  all  the  pressure  of  the  times,  and  in  the  midst 
of  personal  sufferings.  Let  us  hear  the  answer  of  God  to 
all  our  murmurings  :  Thy  way,  and  thy  doings,  have  pro¬ 
cured  these  things  unto  thee  :  This  is  thy  wickedness,  be¬ 
cause  it  is  bitter,  because  it  reache th  unto  thy  heart.  Let 
us  humble  ourselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  and 
by  faith  in  the  Redeemer,  and  genuine  repentance,  disarm 
a  frowning  God  of  that  vengeance  which  we  have  demcr- 
ited  at  his  hands. 

2.  Let  us,  like  so  many  Moseses,  stand  in  the  gap,  and 
plead  with  God,  that  he  would  spare  us,  a  guilty  people, 
and  still  indulge  us  with  a  continuance  of  those  privileges 
for  which  our  fathers  fought,  bled,  and  died.  O,  let  us  not 
barter  diem  away  for  present  enjoyments,  but  patiently  sub¬ 
mit  to,  and  bear  a  few  privations  whilst  the  present  contest 
continues  ;  and  though  much  of  our  property  may  be  exhaust¬ 
ed  in  the  struggle,  yet  it  is  better  to  leave  our  families  the  pos¬ 
session  of  our  present  privileges,  without  the  possession  of  a 
cent,  than  to  leave  them  millions  of  dollars,  with  the  entail- 
ment  of  slavery. 

3.  Let  those,  who  openly  express  their  disaffection  to  our 
government,  pause,  and  reflect  upon  the  criminality  of  their 
conduct;  for  God  himself  bears  witness  against  those  sins 
which  disturb  society.  In  these  cases,  he  is  pleased  to  inter- 

C 


18 


cooo© 


cst  himself  in  a  most  signal  manner,  to  cool  those,  who  make  it 
their  business  to  overturn  the  order  he  hath  established  lor  the 
good  of  the  earth.  He  doth  not  so  often  in  this  world  punish 
those  faults  committed  immediately  against  his  own  honour, 
as  those  which  put  a  state  into  a  hurry,  and  confusion.  It  is 
observed,  that  the  most  turbulent,  seditious  persons  in  a  state, 
come  to  most  violent  ends  :  As  Corah,  Adonijah,  Zimri  : 
Ahitophel  draws  Absalom's  sword  against  David  and  Israel, 
and  the  next  lie  twists  an  halter  for  himself.  Absalom  heads 
a  party  against  his  father,  and  God,  by  a  goodness  to  Israel, 
hangs  him  up,  and  prevents  not  its  safety,  by  David’s  indul¬ 
gence,  and  a  future  rebellion,  had  life  been  spared  by  the  fond¬ 
ness  of  his  father.  His  providence  is  more  evident  in  discov¬ 
ering  disturbers,  and  the  causes  which  move  them,  and  in  dig¬ 
ging  the  contrivers  out  of  their  caverns,  and  lurking  holes. 
He  doth  more  severely  in  this  world,  correct  those  actions, 
which  unlink  the  mutual  assistance  between  man  and  man,  and 
the  charitable  and  kind  correspondence  he  would  have  kept  up. 

4.  How  lost  to  gratitude,  and  love  of  country,  must  be  such 
of  our  deluded  citizens,  who  can  rejoice  in  the  disasters  of 
those,  who  are  engaged  in  warfare,  against  our  proud,  insult¬ 
ing  foe  ;  and  are  ready  to  weep  at  any  success  which  attends 
our  arms.  Even  the  brute  beast  is  attached  to  the  spot  which 
affords  it  pasture  ;  but  they,  more  brutish,  would  tear  to  pie¬ 
ces  the  foliage  of  the  tree  which  screens  them  from  the  storm, 
and,  unlike  the  beast,  maliciously  invite  others  to  join  them  in 
blasting  our  fairest  prospects,  and  laying  all  in  wide  ruin  and 
destruction  !  Is  not  this  too  evidently  the  wish  of  those  a- 
mong  us,  who  make  use  of  every  artifice,  and  twist  and  turn 
all  the  patriotic  measures  of  our  Executive,  as  being  under  the 
controul  of  French  influence?  which  their  own  conscience  can¬ 
not  subscribe  to,  neither  do  thev  themselves  believe  so.  But 
the  evil  object  they  have  in  view,  they  studiously  conceal ;  and 
this  outcry  against  French  influence,  is  raised  as  a  mist  to  blind 
the  eyes  of  the  publick,  and  to  subserve  the  design  of  pulling 
down  our  present  rulers,  and  to  raise  themselves  on  their  ruin. 
Should  they  succeed  in  their  nefarious  plan,  what  would  be 
the  destructive  consequence  ?  Why,  we  soon  should  see  these 
very  same  people,  who  are  so  clamorous  against  foreign  influ¬ 
ence,  forming  an  alliance  w  ith  Grcat-Britain,  offensive  and  de¬ 
fensive,  which  would  involve  us  in  the  same  ruin  with  herseik 


19 

ooaoo 

Let  us,  for  the  truth  of  this,  appeal  to  stubborn  facts.  Who 
is  it  that  justify,  and,  if  they  cannot  justify,  palliate  all  the  in¬ 
sults  which  we  have  for  ten  years  past  received  from  that  gov¬ 
ernment?  If  they  outrage  all  laws,  moral  and  divine,  by  im¬ 
pressing  thousands  of  our  gallant  seamen  ;  and  if,  either  by 
bribes,  or  cruel  whippings  and  Hoggings,  they  are  forced  to 
enter  the  service,  their  advocates  extenuate  their  conduct,  by 
observing,  that  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  discriminate  be¬ 
tween  our  people  and  their  .own,  as  our  features  and  language 
are  so  similar.  With  such  reasons  and  arguments,  they  justify 
the  cruel  wrongs,  inflicted  on  our  unhappy  countrymen,  who 
are  forced  to  join  and  assist  the  common  enemy,  in  their  mur¬ 
derous  work,  and  who  are  perhaps  this  moment,  embruing  their 
hands  in  the  blood  of  their  nearest  friends  and  dearest  ielative. 
These  predilections  for  a  government,  which  is  sowing  among 
us  the  seed  of  discord,  sedition,  and  treason,  and  which  wish¬ 
es  to  tear  from  us  our  dearest  rights,  demonstrates  where  the 
bias  of  their  minds  tends  to.  Nor  can  a  word  be  uttered  in 
their  hearing  against  the  British,  but  what  they  resent  more 
than  they  would  blasphemy  ;  this  speaks  volumes,  and  evident¬ 
ly  points  to  us  the  object  which  they  have  in  view.  But  let 
.  them  tremble  for  their  conduct.  The  great  mass  of  our  citi¬ 
zens,  have  too  long  tasted  the  sweets  of  liberty,  to  exchange  it 
for  the  gew-gaws  of  monarchy.  It  is  enough  for  us  to  will  to 
be  free ,  and,  maugre  all  the  attempts  of  anarchists  and  mon¬ 
archists,  we  are  free.  And  let  them  not  suppose,  that  their 
misdeeds  shall  go  unpunished.  The  day  of  reckoning  is  fast 
approaching,  when  the  strong  arm  of  law  and  justice,  will  ov¬ 
ertake  them,  and  make  them  sensible  that  even  in  a  republican 
government,  there  is  energy  enough  to  crush  the  guilty. 

5.  Let  not  the  exertions  of  the  religious  inhabitants  of  Eng¬ 
land,  influence  your  attachment  to  the  British  government,  as 
if  the  large  donations  contributed  for  the  support  of  Missiona¬ 
ries,  the  distribution  of  Bibles,  and  other  religious  purposes, 
were  the  acts  of  government.  These  are  the  generous  efforts 
of  its  subjects,  of  individuals,  groaning  under  the  pressure  of 
taxes.  And  how  much  more  would  these  individuals  contri¬ 
bute  toward  these  benevolent  purposes,  were  the  demands  of 

us  !  So  far  is  it  from  true,  that  the 
dly,  that  it  is  opposed  to  the  spread 
illions  in  Asia.  For,  within  eight 


government  not  so  numcro 
British  government  is 
of  the  gospel  among  the  mi 


ao 

years  past,  the  government  of  England  rejected  the  application 
cf  the  Missionary  Society  to  send  missionaries  to  India,  to 
preach  the  gospel ;  ^nd  which  subjected  that  society  to  the  ex¬ 
pence  of  sending  them  to  New-York,  from  whence  they  em¬ 
barked  to  the  place  of  their  destination.  To  conclude. 

Men,  Brethren,  and  Fathers , 

7  9  •> 

Let  us,  to-day,  take  a  fresh  survey  of  our  our 

Lx.  end  our  personal  Blessings,  and  let  us  entertain  then 
with  a  godly  jealousy.  Let  no  man,  under  a  pretext  of  liber¬ 
ty,  cjjclc  u  .  'lit  of  our  privileges.  With  ail  our  edarnitie?; 
ve  are  comparatively,  a  happy  people.  We  can  boast  cf  what 
no  oilier  people  can.  The  sovereignty  is  in  our  own  hards. 
We  are  not  bound,  as  in  France  and  England,  to  crouch  like 
beascs  of  burden  to  those  who  goad,  and  add  to  the  weight  of 
their  chains.  Our  rulers,  are  our  servants,  and  not  our  mas- 
ters.  It  is  by  our  free  suffrage#,  they  have  been  elevated  to 
their  exalted  stations  ;  and  if  they  swerve  from  the  principles 
of  liberty,  we  can  destroy  their  official  dignity,  and  reduce 
them  to  the  ranks  of  private  citizens,  without  having  recourse 
to  acts  of  violence.  The  miseries  attending  the  French  revo¬ 
lution,  must  be  yet  fresh  in  your  memories  ;  and  we  hope,  and 
vpray,  that  no  aspiring  demagogues  may  be  permitted  to  rise 
up  among  us,  whereby  the  proscriptions,  assassinations,  and 
murders,  of  a  ferocious  Marat,  and  an  ensanguined  Robespierre, 
may  pollute  and  stain  our  hallowed  land  of  liberty  and  equality. 

And  you,  my  young  hearers,  read,  frequently  read,  the 
\  history  of  your  country.  Emulate  the  deeds  of  your  sires, 
whose  patriotic  arms,  put  to  flight  the  ruffian  hordes,  which 
Britain  vomited  on  our  shores.  O,  prove  yourselves  to 
be  the  descendants  of  those,  whose  names  will  shine  with 
lustre  on  the  historic  page ;  and  should  you,  like  them,  be 
called  to  avenge  your  country’s  wrongs,  prove,  that  you  not 
only  j nherit  their  names,  but  likewise  their  courage  ;  that 
you  will  Sot  detract  horn  their  glon^but  maintain  with  yotir 
blood,  undiminished,  the  fair  inheritance  which  they  have  be¬ 
queathed  yop.  And,  Or.that  a  double  portion  of  their  spirit 
may  rest  on  you.  AMEN,]  and  AMEN. 


